Manchin's in, with nod to Byrd

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin announced Tuesday morning that he would seek the seat held by the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.).

Launching his campaign to succeed Byrd, who represented West Virginia in Congress for 57 years and became the longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history, Manchin said: “I would have loved nothing more than for Sen. Byrd to be here, to be able to work with him until the end.”

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Manchin made his announcement hours after signing a bill that set the special primary to fill the seat for Aug. 28 and the special general for Nov. 2.

In order to pass the legislation, the popular Democratic governor had to first make a major compromise: The law allows Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) — Republicans’ best hope for the seat — to run for both her Senate seat and her House seat in November. State code does not allow a candidate to run for two offices in the same election, and House Republicans held out their support for the special election legislation until it clarified that a candidate could run for the special election and in the general election on Nov. 2.

Capito is expected to make a final decision about whether to run for the Senate by the 5 pm filnig deadline, but Republicans are optimistic.

“Congresswoman Capito will announce her decision soon after determining how she can best continue to serve West Virginia on important issues like protecting the state’s vital energy industry, where she has been the loudest and sometimes only critic of the Obama administration’s assault on coal,” said Capito spokesman Kent Gates.

Manchin suggested he would welcome a challenge from Capito.

“I’ve said, there are so many quality people who have a desire to serve, and I encourage that,” Manchin said. “That being said, you just have to run hard. You really do.”

Mike Caputo, vice president of the United Mine Workers Association, predicted that the labor unions would support Manchin and that he will be “very difficult to beat.”

“I think the governor is certainly the frontrunner in this race,” said Caputo, who also serves as majority whip in the state House. “His approval rating is unlike any other I’ve seen in West Virginia politics, except maybe the late, great Sen. Byrd.”

A Rasmussen Reports survey from early July showed Manchin leading Capito 53 percent to 39 percent among 500 likely voters. Capito tested the strongest against any of the possible GOP candidates.

West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney said that businessman John Raese — who spent $15 million of his personal wealth to challenge Byrd in 2006 — is expected to run for the seat. Other potential candidates have also reached out to the party. But McKinney said Capito is the party’s first choice, and now that she doesn’t have to give up her House seat to run for the Senate, the congresswoman could be more likely to challenge Manchin.

“That would sweeten the deal for her because she has a practically unknown candidate facing her in the House seat,” McKinney said.

West Virginia's secretary of state initially ruled that state law required Manchin to appoint a placeholder through 2012, but the state attorney general ruled on July 8 that the governor had the power to call a special election for the seat. Manchin called the state legislature into a special session last week to pass a law dictating the terms of the special election.

A former aide to Manchin, attorney Carte Goodwin, is scheduled to be sworn in as a temporary senator Tuesday afternoon, to hold the seat until the November special election.